BEIJING: As the COVID-19 pandemic forced guests around the globe to attend the 2020 Beijing Forum online, experts and scholars stressed that cooperation and development are more important than ever while delivering speeches and reports at the event, which kicked off at Peking University on Saturday.
Under the theme “The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All,” attendees focused on the opportunities and challenges facing globalization amid the pandemic. Among the topics, cooperation, economy and science and technology development remain the top concerns in the current situation. In a video speech, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that inequalities had been rising and divisions widening even before the pandemic, which should serve as a “wake-up call for these ills.” He spoke highly of China’s achievements in lifting 850 million people out of poverty, saying it is “the greatest anti-poverty accomplishment in history,” and called on the global society to get on track and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Cooperation in scientific and technological development: Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, highlighted the importance of progress in science and technology amid the pandemic in his address. “We have to make much more use of the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution,” said Schwab, adding that he could make a long list of technologies he saw advanced during the pandemic, such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and genetic engineering among others.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
